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LAW ON AMENDMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTATIONS TO A NUMBER OF ARTICLES OF THE CIVIL AVIATION LAW OF VIETNAM

LAW ON AMENDMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTATIONS TO A NUMBER OF ARTICLES OF THE CIVIL AVIATION LAW OF VIETNAM

Pursuant to Article 84 of the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in 1992;

This Law amends and supplements a number of articles of the Civil Aviation Law of Vietnam passed by the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on the 26th of December 1991.

Article 1.- To amend and supplement a number of articles of the Civil Aviation Law of Vietnam as follows:

1- Article 6 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 6.-

1. The State management of civil aviation includes:

a/ Making general planning and policy for development of the civil aviation service;

b/ Promulgating legal documents; signing, acceding to and pledging to carry out international treaties on civil aviation; joining international cooperation in civil aviation;

c/ Establishing, managing and operating air routes; controlling flight information regions and flights; planning and managing the system of information technology for civil aviation;

d/ Planning, establishing, registering, managing and operating civilian airports and airfields;

e/ Managing air transport; managing projects to establish, merge or dissolve air transport services, and cooperation ventures with foreign investment in civil aviation;

f/ Registering aircraft; managing the importation and exportation of aircraft, equipment and materials for civil aviation; managing and supervising the repair and maintenance of aircraft and aircraft engines, the manufacture of equipment of aircraft, and other equipment and materials for the operation of civil aviation;

g/ Issuing, suspending, extending, amending, withdrawing or cancelling certificates, licenses, permits, and other papers and documents relating to the activities of civil aviation;

h/ Organizing and ensuring air security and safety, and national security; organizing and ensuring security and safety for special aircraft flights and exclusive flights;

i/ Organizing search and rescue operations, and investigation of aircraft accidents;

k/ Managing the training, selection and development of the workforce of the civil aviation service;

l/ Managing scientific and technological activities in civil aviation; providing environmental protection for civil aviation activities;

m/ Checking, inspecting and settling complaints and denunciations, and handling administrative violations in civil aviation activities.

2. The Government exercises unified State management of civil aviation on a national scale.

The Specialized Agency for State Management of Civil Aviation is an agency attached to the Government, helping the Government to exercise the specialized function of State management of civil aviation as stipulated by law.

The ministries, ministerial-level agencies, the agencies attached to the Government, and the local administration shall exercise State management of civil aviation according to the function, tasks and powers stipulated for them by law".

2- Item 1 of Article 9 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"1. Aircraft owned by Vietnamese citizens who permanently reside in Vietnam, aircraft of those air transport services which meet the conditions stipulated in Item 1, Article 55, of this Law, and of other Vietnamese legal persons whose main offices are based in Vietnam, are allowed to register in Vietnam.

Aircraft of foreign organizations and individuals, and aircraft of foreign invested services, except those air transport services mentioned in Item 1, Article 55, of this Law, can register in Vietnam under the terms stipulated by the Government".

3- Article 27 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 27.-

1. The airport authority, under the Specialized Agency for State Management of Civil Aviation, is headed by a director. It shall exercise the function of managing airports and airfields; ensuring security and safety at airports and airfields; collecting fees and tolls for use of airports and airfields.

The Director of the airport authority shall have to coordinate the activities of other competent State management agencies at the airport and airfield; ensure the maintenance of public order, air transport security and safety, and environmental hygiene; provide convenient, civilized and courteous air travel services and public services at the airport and airfield.

2. The organization, tasks and powers of the airport authority, and the regulations on the coordination of activities between the State managing agencies at airports and airfields shall be stipulated by the Government.

Those State managing agencies which operate regularly at the airport and airfield shall be offered proper work places at the airport and airfield by the Director of the airport authority.

In case an incident occurs, affecting directly and immediately the security and safety of the airport and airfield, the Director of the airport authority has the right to temporarily close the civilian airport or airfield for not more than 24 hours, and at the same time, must report it at once to the Head of the Specialized Agency for State Management of Civil Aviation.

3. The Directors of the airport authority at those airports and airfields relating to national defense shall have to cooperate with the military institutions in managing, defending and operating the airports and airfields for mixed use".

4- Article 43 is supplemented with Item 3 as follows:

"3. The flight control organization shall have to maintain close contact and cooperation with the flight control centers of the neighboring nations in regulating flights, to ensure safety for those aircraft flying within Vietnam's air routes and flight information regions".

5- Article 53 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 53.-

1. In case an aircraft accident occurs with minor consequences, the Specialized Agency for State Management of Civil Aviation shall have to:

a/ Investigate the accident, conditions, circumstances, causes, and the extent of the damage it causes;

b/ Take measures to keep down to the minimum any further damage;

c/ Timely publicize the information and documents related to the accident;

d/ Cooperate with the agencies and organizations concerned and the local administration in investigating the aircraft accident, and guide activities to prevent accidents.

2. If the accident involves an aircraft on State mission, the Specialized Agency for State Management of Civil Aviation must cooperate with the agency owning the aircraft to conduct an investigation as stipulated by law.

3. In case an aircraft accident occurs with serious consequences, the Government shall form a commission to investigate the accident.

4. In investigating an aircraft accident, the Specialized Agency for State Management of Civil Aviation and the aircraft accident Investigating Committee have the right to check and carry out an examination of the aircraft and its equipment and materials, the properties on board the concerned aircraft and other aircraft related to the accident. In case the accident causes fatalities, the professional organization designated by the Government shall have the right to keep the corpses for post-mortem examination to further the investigation of the accident.

5. The aircraft owner and manager, and other organizations and individuals involved in civil aviation activities, must supply timely, fully and accurately the necessary information concerning the aircraft accident to the Specialized Agency for State Management of Civil Aviation and the aircraft accident Investigating Committee.

6. In case a foreign civilian aircraft meets with an accident on Vietnam's territory, the Vietnamese Government may accept the person appointed by the nation where the aircraft is registered, to act as an observer in the process of investigating the accident".

6- Article 55 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 55.-

1. The Vietnamese air transport services mentioned in this Law are those air transport services which are established in accordance with Vietnam's laws and whose main offices are located in Vietnam; in case the air transport services are foreign invested, the Vietnamese partner must be fully qualified in terms of capital and actual control power, as stipulated by Vietnam's laws, and in line with international laws and practice.

2. Only those air transport services stipulated in Item 1 of this Article are permitted to provide public air transport.

3. A license for the establishment of an air transport service shall be issued by the Head of the Specialized Agency for State Management of Civil Aviation with the approval of the Prime Minister.

4. The Head of the Specialized Agency for State Management of Civil Aviation shall stipulate the conditions for regular flights, the conditions and time-limit for conducting irregular flights; issue and extend licenses for regular and irregular transports for air transport services;

5. The establishment license and the operation license of an air transport service may be annulled, revoked or suspended when it commits one of the following violations:

a/ Violating the stipulations on the establishment of a business; infringing on business conditions, operation conditions, and statutory provisions on air transport security and safety;

b/ Failing to start business within six months after the date it registers for doing business, or the date when it is issued an operation license;

c/ Suspending its business activities for more than six months.

The Head of the Specialized Agency for State Management of Civil Aviation has the right to cancel, withdraw or suspend the establishment license and the operation license of the air transport service concerned.

6. The Government shall stipulate the procedure and conditions for the issue, extension, cancellation, withdrawal or suspension of the establishment license, the business registration, and the operation license of air transport services.

7. In addition to the stipulations of this Law, the establishment, operation and dissolution of air transport services must also conform to the stipulations of other laws of Vietnam".

7- Item 1 and Item 2 of Article 58 are re-numbered Item 2 and Item 3 respectively, and Item 1 is added with the following:

"1. The exchange of air transport rights between Vietnam and other nations should be made on the basis of mutual respect for each other's independence, sovereignty and laws; guarantee of fairness and equality in operation opportunities, and in the rights and obligations between the airlines of Vietnam and those of other nations which are appointed to effect the right to air transport".

8- The stipulation in Article 70 is re-numbered Item 1, and this Article is supplemented with Item 2 and Item 3 as follows:

"2. Any dispute between passengers and the carrier during the flight shall be settled at the airport or airfield.

3. Upon arrival at the airport or airfield, the passengers should disembark from the aircraft under the guidance of flight assistants or the carrier's agents. No passenger is allowed to remain on board the aircraft due to a dispute with the carrier during the flight".

9- Article 71 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 71.- The principle of setting and the conditions for applying airfares, and the brackets of airfares shall be stipulated by the Government.

The regular airfares shall be submitted by the air transport services to the Specialized Agency for State Management of Civil Aviation for ratification".

10- Item 1 of Article 78 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"1. The carrier shall not benefit from the civilian liability limit, in case the carrier, his personnel or agents make a serious mistake, whether deliberately or not, which causes damage while performing their task.

The carrier can only benefit from the same civilian liability limit as the civilian liability limit in international air transport, provided for by the international treaties which Vietnam has signed or acceded to".

11- Article 90 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 90.-

1. Any foreign organization or individual, that in using their aircraft causes damage to the third person on the ground on Vietnam's territory, must compensate for the damage at a rate not exceeding 1,000 USD per kilogram of the aircraft weight, for each aircraft and for each incident that causes the damage.

2. The weight of the aircraft mentioned in this Article is the maximum allowed take-off weight of the aircraft, as provided for by the certificate of air worthiness, minus the influence of the pumping of air or gas for use.

3. The liability to compensation for fatalities or health damage shall not exceed 150,000 USD for each dead or injured person".

12- The headline of Chapter VIII is changed into "Inspection of air transport safety and guarantee of air transport security".

Article 2.-

1- Article 93a is supplemented as follows:

"Article 93a.- The stipulations in this Part also apply to the aircraft which, while flying, cause damage to ships, boats and projects of Vietnam in Vietnam's territorial waters and in the sea areas under Vietnam's sovereignty, sovereign right and national jurisdiction, in sea areas, land areas and waters not belonging to the sovereignty and the jurisdiction of any nation".

2- Article 97a is supplemented as follows:

"Article 97a.-

1. In ensuring air transport security, the Specialized Agency for State Management of Civil Aviation has the following tasks and powers :

a/ Cooperating with the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of the Interior, the State agencies concerned, and the local administration where there is an airport or airfield, or where air transport equipment is assembled, to draft a national air transport security program, and work out measures to ensure air transport security, and submit them to the Government for promulgation;

b/ Ratifying the air transport security programs of airports, airfields and air transport services;

c/ Guiding and checking the implementation of air transport security programs and measures to ensure air transport security;

d/ Organizing a training program for air transport security;

e/ Timely supplying information on air transport security;

f/ Joining in international cooperation in the field of air transport security.

2. The airport authority must organize the implementation of air transport security programs; cooperate with the units of the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of the Interior, the General Department of Customs, the other agencies concerned, and the local administration, in taking appropriate measures to prevent any breach of law on security in civil aviation activities; ensure security for civilian aircraft, aircraft on State mission, and foreign aircraft departing from or arriving at civilian airports and airfields in Vietnam.

3. The air transport services, and the agencies and units of the civil aviation administration must strictly carry out the air transport security programs; and apply suitable measures to ensure safety for the aircraft, passengers and crew in case of a hijack, sabotage or other unlawful acts during the flight.

4. The passengers, baggage, cargo, parcels, packages, and the objects in service of the flight must be checked by the security force before boarding or being loaded into the aircraft. In case any passenger or any piece of luggage, cargo, parcel, package or other objects show signs of breaching the provisions of air transport security and national security, that passenger or piece of luggage, cargo, parcel, package, or thing can be left out of the flight".

Article 3.-

1. The groups of words "The Council of Ministers" and "The Chairman of the Council of Ministers" used in the Civil Aviation Law of Vietnam are replaced by "The Government" and "The Prime Minister" respectively.

2. The groups of words "The Ministry of Transport, Communications and Post" and "The Minister of Transport, Communications and Post" used in the Civil Aviation Law of Vietnam are replaced by "The Specialized Agency for State Management of Civil Aviation" and "The Head of the Specialized Agency for State Management of Civil Aviation" respectively.

3. The group of words "The air control agency" used in the Civil Aviation Law of Vietnam is replaced by "The flight control agency".

Article 4.- The Government shall stipulate details for the implementation of this Law.

(This Law was passed by the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Ninth Legislature, at its Seventh Session on the 20th of April 1995).

Chairman of the National Assembly

NONG DUC MANH